Friday, October 15, 2004

The Bush Bulge Caught on tape. [via Kevin Drum] 3:58:37 PM    comment [] Goodwin's Choice The Daily Howler gives plagiarist Doris Kearns Goodwin the thrashing she richly deserves. Click here and scroll down to "Goodwin's choice" to read the details. The title of the piece is ambiguous; you have to read to the end to get its full meaning. 3:32:59 PM    comment [] Freeway Free Speech Day review Click here to see the smashing results of October 13th's Freeway Free Speech day (mentioned previously here) declared by America's gadfly, Freewayblogger. The tally: "[aproximately] 700 activists participated in 48 states, 200 cities, well over a thousand signs and millions and millions and millions of motoring viewers." Be on the lookout for signs along your freeways and streets, and if you have the time, start a freeway blog of your own. There are only a couple of weeks left to remind commuters of the miserable failure that is George W. Bush. 2:04:55 PM    comment [] Our ultimate goal in the GWOT Here was Bob Schieffer's first question in the last presidential debate: [W]ill our children and grandchildren ever live in a world as safe and secure as the world in which we grew up? [Side note:Now the immediate reaction that I had was that we grew up in a world threatened by thermonuclear annihilation, so I wouldn't use that time period as a standard. We got through the Cold War successfully by using our military sparingly and in a focused, targeted way and, more importantly, by using diplomacy in partnership with our allies. We will win the "War on Terror" in the same way, by militarily targeting our true enemies (Al Qaeda) and by reaching out to our allies and to world governments, rather than by alienating them through invading countries that posed no genuine threat to us in pursuit of an ideological "domino theory" (spreading God's gift of freedom and liberty throughout the Middle East by force) that we used to attribute to our Cold War enemies. But hey, that's just me.] Trying to pose as optimists, both Kerry and Bush immediately responded "Yes, of course!" But Bush, after responding yes, was sure to criticize Kerry for his 'nuisance' comment: My opponent just this weekend talked about how terrorism could be reduced to a nuisance, comparing it to prostitution, illegal gambling. I think that attitude and that point of view is dangerous. But what would it be to live in the "safe and secure" world of our idealized childhood (the vision shared by Schieffer, Kerry and supposedly Bush) but to live in a world in which terrorism is not the focus of our lives but is nothing more than a nuisance? The fact of the matter is that Bush is not committed to this goal. It's incompatible with his leadership in the "Global War on Terror." A world in which terrorism is nothing more than a nuisance is a world in which we are not spreading God's gift of freedom and liberty across the globe via Napoleonic means. A world in which terrorism is nothing more than a nuisance is a world that does not fulfill Biblical prophecy. A world in which terrorism is nothing more than a nuisance is a world that doesn't demand the Prince of Peace's return to Earth. Bush sees terrorism as an excuse for global total war against evil. In this respect, his ultimate goal is the same as Osama bin Laden's. 12:48:52 PM    comment [] Michigan votes on same-sex (?) domestic partnerships Michigan is one of about a dozen states that will have proposals or propositions on their ballots this November against same-sex marriage and benefits for same-sex partnerships. In Michigan, Proposal 04-02 ("Banning Same-Sex Marriage or Similar Unions") seeks to amend the state's constitution by adding the following Article I, Section 25: To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose. The key phrase in the amendment is "or similar union for any purpose." Michigan already defines marriage as between a man and a woman. With this added phrase, the proposal seems to seek to eliminate benefits and rights afforded to same-sex domestic partnerships. This has caused employees at the University of Michigan with same-sex partners to worry about their benefits if the proposal passes. UM President Mary Sue Coleman decided to speak out on the issue: I have received a number of inquiries from members of our community concerning the potential effect of Proposal 04-02 on our ability to offer health care and other benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of U-M faculty and staff.   The proposal seeks to amend our state constitution to declare that "a union of one man and one woman shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose."  Its status will be determined by the voters of the State of Michigan on Nov. 2nd. The University of Michigan offers benefits programs to help recruit and retain the best and brightest employees. We design such plans to help keep us competitive and provide for a healthy, respectful and welcoming community.  We do not believe that a state constitutional amendment regarding the definition of marriage would be relevant to our decisions about the benefits we offer to any of our employees and their dependents. If we are challenged, we will vigorously defend our right to offer such benefits. The Coalition for a Fair Michigan, however, disagrees with President Coleman. It thinks the proposal, if passed, would eliminate existing domestic partner benefits for same sex couples at state universities and government agencies. In fact, the language of the amendment is such as to bring domestic partner benefits tout court into question. Despite the title of the proposal, the loose language of the amendment ("or similar union for any purpose") could also be taken to cover heterosexual domestic partnerships. Given the misleading title of the proposal, could there be a stronger argument for the principle that constitutional amendments shouldn't be made via the ballot? At any rate, we'll see how this plays out. A CNN Gallup poll of registered voters taken on September 21st had 51% of Michiganders against the proposal and 44% in favor. 12:09:46 PM    comment []

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